Breaking the Balance
by Akirameru
Summary: Minato leaves his legacy with more than just the Kyuubi in his stomach and the blond hair on his head. With the power of the god of death and all that comes with it - what is Naruto to do? Torn between the forces of a god and his own morals, will his sense of semblance keep him righteous - or will he succumb to his darker urges, besotten with the power that they greedily provide?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto and possess no relation to any of its affiliates.

 **[Revised: 7/11/2018]**

 **This work is ABANDONED and will not be updated!**

 **Prologue**

* * *

It'd been one long week and Kakashi Hatake was feeling exhausted.

"Hi!"

One long week of paperwork and disappointment. A familiar week, year in and year out. Rejecting a team of fresh graduates came with a certain amount of printing and signing. Time he'd rather spend drinking or killing.

"Hello?"

Then when he finally makes the time to visit his friends...

"Are you okay mister?" The voice was high-pitched but not loud, though still grating slightly on Kakashi's relatively sensitive ears. He glanced down and examined the kid yapping his ears off. Pale blond hair, exceptionally light blue eyes...

Oh, this one.

"What are you doing back here, kid?" Kakashi muttered, plucking his copy of _Icha Icha Violence_ from his breast pocket. _Here_ was the memorial stone.

"You've been gone for a while," he said glibly, tilting his head to the side. "Were you out on a mission?"

"No."

"Coming up with some new ninjutsu?"

"No."

"Can you help me please?"

"N-" Kakashi paused. "Help with what?" he asked, closing the book he was hardly reading anyway and kneeling down to eye-level with the kid. There was something familiar about him, but with his memory, everyone's familiar. The kid visited the memorial a _lot_ , and talked nonsensically to him just as much. From this, he knew the blond was an academy student, probably on his first year, 8 or 9 years old.

"I, uhh.." he stammered, not expecting the sudden scrutinizing. He gulped, and raised a leaf Kakashi hadn't noticed him holding. "I don't know how to do this."

"To do what?" Kakashi asked, eye crinkling in amusement. He had trouble unlocking his chakra, probably. Leaf sticking was the initial step to molding chakra in the academy.

"W-well, it's meant to stick to my hand, so I can wave it around-" he proceeds to do just that, while holding the leaf tightly, "and it doesn't come off. Buuuut I don't know how." He grinned weakly.

Kakashi hummed. "What did your teacher say you were doing wrong?"

The kid blanched, "he didn't help! He was busy with the other kids and I don't think he saw me." He muttered something under his breath, but Kakashi uncharacteristically missed it.

"Okay," Kakashi shrugged, standing back up to his full height. "Channel your chakra and I'll see if I can't tell you what you're doing wrong." He discreetly cast a genjutsu to cover his adjusting of his headband.

"Okay, thanks!" The kid grinned, placed the leaf on the palm of a hand and stared at it determinedly. His eyes scrunched up, he started frowning, and Kakashi was a bit put off. "I just don't get it," the blond shrugged, stopping his attempt and looking up towards the oddly focused man he enlisted to help him.

"Hello?" The kid sensed deja-vu. "Are you okay mister?"

"Uh," Kakashi spoke, adjusting his headband back into place. "Who are your parents?" he asked languidly, "what's your name?"

The kid shrunk back into himself. "Err, I-I don't have any parents."

"Ah." An orphan then. But...

"Anyway! The name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

Now _that_ just changed the game completely.

* * *

 _Ra-ta-ta-tap._

"None at all?" Hiruzen Sarutobi mused, tapping his fingers on the thick desk overlain with various papers and documents from his place in the decorated wooden chair behind. The smoke escaping his wooden pipe shaped and curled into a question mark floating above his head.

"Well," Kakashi started, "he has _something_ , but it's not..." he glanced towards the blond he'd taken with him to the office. "It's not chakra, and he hasn't unlocked it yet. But it seems like it behaves as chakra, in a way." Kakashi shrugged, "a Hyuuga would have a better idea, but it isn't-" he glanced sharply into the Hokage's eyes, "it isn't like _that_ chakra _at all_ , not even as much as it should be."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes at the blond, humming deeply. Kakashi casually curled an arm about the blond's shoulders, feeling oddly protective. The kid didn't feel the need to shy away.

"Is everything okay?" The boy under scrutinization asked quietly, looking at his feet. "I'm sorry if-"

"No," Hiruzen interrupted kindly, "you've done nothing wrong. Something has just come up is all, Naruto. Thank you for being here, I'll take you out for ramen later today, okay? But you have to be patient for now, alright?"

Naruto smiled broadly, "okay jiji!" Kakashi chuckled and the Hokage's eye twitched at the remark. Old man indeed.

"Rabbit," Hiruzen called, waving towards a cast-iron plant sitting by the door. Instantly - to Naruto's eyes - a figure dressed in a black jumpsuit and white vest, face hidden by a mask painted with whiskers and adorned with a triangular nose seemed to materialize besides the Hokage's desk, facing the leader with their arms clasped behind their back.

"Hokage-sama," the feminine voice intoned. Naruto thought that whatever just happened was awesome, and that he too wanted a rabbit.

"Give it a look," Hiruzen asked. "Naruto, try to channel your chakra again, it might help."

"Yessir!" Naruto grinned. He had held on to the leaf - he'd had it since morning and it'd turned into habit to keep hold of it when the grey-haired man dragged him off - and now placed it back onto his palm and focused just as intently onto it as before. Unfortunately, he had no idea how chakra worked and nothing really happened.

"Ah.." the ANBU gasped lightly. "I don't understand," she explained simply. The Hokage was drumming his fingers along his desk again and the sound of it broke Naruto's concentration.

"For the sake of it," Hiruzen started, eyeing Kakashi, "let's pretend it's chakra. Help him unlock it like it's usually done. Rabbit, keep watching, we might learn something." The two nodded and Naruto squinted at Kakashi.

"How's it usually done?" Naruto asked.

"Well," Kakashi replied, "I'll give you a bit of chakra and _usually_ that lets you get a feel for it, and it'll let you know what you're looking for. After that, it's easy."

"I kind of get it," Naruto nodded, "let's do it!" He was cute, but Kakashi couldn't help the thought that at his age, he was already a murderer... well, that was random.

"Alright, give me your hand and _really_ focus on it," Kakashi instructed, the child quickly obeying. "Ready?"

"Ready." Directly after saying it, Naruto felt his hand _warm_ up. It was very strange, and suddenly an alien sensation seemed to shoot through his arm and the warmth suddenly subsided. "Woah..."

"That's not right," Kakashi muttered, flicking his hand as if trying to throw something off.

"If I may, Hokage-sama," the ANBU asked quickly, motioning towards the blond who seemed rather intent on examining his arm. Receiving permission, she quickly stepped forward and took the hand from the blond, who was startled but didn't otherwise pull away.

"Are you doing it too?" Naruto asked, blinking.

"I am," she answered easily. This time, Kakashi adjusted his headband to observe the procedure.

Hidden by the mask, the woman's _byakugan_ observed closely. Her chakra went through her arm, into her hand, pushed into and around his hand, around his arm... and it was promptly deleted. His own not-chakra reactively ground against hers and the two cancelled each other out. This was _not_ how a jinchuuriki's chakra was meant to operate, not in the slightest.

Kakashi made his own, similar observations, and the two promptly explained what they'd seen to the Hokage as best they could. Afterwards, the Hokage dismissed Rabbit and returned to drumming his fingers along the polished desk.

"I know exactly what's happened," the Hokage sighed, rubbing his forehead drearily. "I just... didn't think it would have this effect."

"Can I still be a ninja?" Naruto asked quietly, having cottoned on throughout the impromptu meeting that something was wrong with him. Even he could notice that.

"I believe so," Hiruzen smiled, "but you won't be going to the academy anymore."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Naruto stumbled, "but if I don't go to the academy how can I be a ninja?! Jiji, I want to be a ninja!" Kakashi moved a hand to Naruto's shoulder and squeezed, telling him calm down. He had a feeling... he was pretty sure he was right when the Hokage made eye-contact.

"Kakashi-" Hiruzen began.

"Alright..." Kakashi sighed, "I'll see what I can do, but I need to know what's wrong with him." With _his_ son. Kakashi had never met Naruto before today, or at least; hadn't known he had met him. The boy was an orphan who didn't know his parents, and it was - simply put - a bad idea to paint the politically-valuable child as such by tailing him. As well, he simply didn't have the spare time to go around looking, and it would've opened the boy up to scrutiny if he'd been asking around.

And then, well. Kakashi wasn't ready to adopt a child; and that's what he would have had to do, if he met a homeless baby in the guise of two of his best friends. It was strange that it didn't click the first time he saw the boy.

Anyway, he regretted it.

"I'll meet you at Ichiraku's, Naruto," Hiruzen said, shooing the blond out of his office. When he left, the Hokage relaxed and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "It's serious."

Kakashi felt his heart sinking. "How serious?" The room was quiet, and the question echoed.

"Shinigami serious." That was pretty serious.

"During the sealing?" Kakashi hazarded a guess. Minato summoned the god of death himself in order to seal the Kyuubi. It was even more impressive than the rumor that he slayed the beast.

"How much do you know about the god of death, Kakashi? Or really, how much have you heard?" The Hokage asked, leaning back in his chair and casually refilling his pipe using a supply of tobacco hidden in his desk.

"I know next to nothing," Kakashi freely admitted. It wasn't really a topic worth studying - until now, evidently. Hiruzen motioned to a chair in front of the desk that had been neglected, and Kakashi dutifully sat in it.

"They say - or so Minato explained it to me - that the god of death, this 'Shinigami' is the antithesis to life. In this context, chakra is synonymous with life. Before his sacrifice - bless his soul, as sacrificed as it is - Minato bequeathed to me.. a concern." The Hokage breathed evenly, and Kakashi realized just how much it was all concerning him when he found himself internally cursing the old man for pausing.

"The universe is filled with balance. It is because of this, that the Shinigami must be so powerful; he is the counter-balance to all other gods, all life on this plane of existence... to chakra. A soul, an assuredly powerful soul at that, was only enough for a single act of exchange. For Minato, that was enough," he stared hard, sternly into Kakashi's eyes. "Nobody in this room is to speak a word of this outside of it."

"O-of course," Kakashi breathed. The hidden guards need not respond.

"The seal was designed for more than to merely hold the Kyuubi," Hiruzen chuckled. "My successor is... was, a genius. Do you know about the Uzumaki bloodline?" Kakashi nodded. "What you may not know, is what makes them particularly good hosts," the Hokage smiled. "Their chakra, or in Naruto's case; something we might call 'anti-chakra' - odd as it is that it turned out that way - carries interesting properties. Their bodies are long-lasting, regenerative, sturdy... yet, incredibly, their coils remain impressionable. Particularly, they're good at adapting. Obviously, this is very useful for jinchuuriki." Hiruzen quite enjoyed a role as story-teller, and Kakashi eagerly hung onto his every word.

"The seal was powered entirely by the shinigami. Any interference by any chakra of any means would be... deleted, under the perusal of the Shinigami's energy. This includes whatever pittance of chakra a baby may hold." That is to say, Naruto did have chakra; but for less than a day out of the womb. "Minato - who I might like to remind you was a prodigy in fuinjutsu - created his seal with this in mind. The _only_ energy present within the child was that of the Shinigami's, and through some bizarre method I can scarcely begin to understand; Minato's seal instructed it to populate his son's coils, to grow and be produced by a _baby_."

Silence.

"That is..." Kakashi tried to say.

"It's insane," Sarutobi muttered, "we can only attribute the boy's survival to his ancestry."

"Wasn't the Kyuubi attack unexpected?" he asked instead.

Sarutobi hummed, returning to drumming his fingers and enjoying his pipe. "We both know he was worried about the Kyuubi escaping during labor. Well-founded. He was prepared for the worst case scenario, and that's why he was my successor." As well as predecessor, unfortunately.

"Then, Naruto carries with him..." Kakashi struggled, "the chakra of.. the shinigami?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Sounds quite powerful, doesn't it? But I assure you it's debilitating by its own nature. He will _never_ be able to heal another, he will _never_ be able to cast genjutsu, he will _never_ be able to sense chakra, and perhaps most of all; he will never be able to utilize the Kyuubi. This is just off the top of my head."

"Then why would Minato-"

"Because it _is_ quite beneficial, regardless." Sarutobi answered easily. "We might not know what to expect, but Minato was a genius and he sacrificed everything to give his son every advantage he could get."

"Yet..." Kakashi wondered, "it's a death sentence if he runs out of chakra, isn't it? The Kyuubi's chakra won't be repelled and it will melt him from the inside out. His body hasn't adjusted to its presence, because it hasn't been exposed, right?"

"I can't stress that enough," Hiruzen nodded. "You're to teach him, under standard pay. Work with the academy to figure out a time-table, it may be for the best to have him remain at the academy if only to take the theoretical classes. I'll also give you his address."

"I thought I was finished with students just earlier today," Kakashi chuckled somberly, standing from the chair and stretching.

The Hokage scribbled Naruto's address onto a stray notepad, ripped off the page and gave it to the jounin while standing up himself. "I've got a ramen stand to get to, so I'll leave you to it. Look after him Kakashi, you know how important it is."

Kakashi bowed deeply. "Of course, Hokage-sama."

* * *

Inspired by gaunt444's ' **Anti-Chakra Challenge** ' 5 years ago. I hope I can do it some justice.


	2. Chapter 2

**[Revised: 7/11/2018]**

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

'Kakashi isn't very helpful.' Naruto shook his head. The motion threatened his balance and he - one again - fell through the surface of the water. He grumbled slurs under his breath and pulled himself back to ground level, huffing.

Kakashi was just giggling, reading his stupid book. Yet as much as Naruto wanted to yell at the man, he could not. This is because he _was_ helping, in his own way. Naruto awkwardly - because his hands were slippery - performed a few hand seals and dried himself with a pleasant sigh. It was a minor fire release ninjutsu Kakashi had taught him prefacing the water-walking exercise.

'It's been a little over a year now,' Naruto thought, steadying a foot back onto the water. It was hard to believe so much had changed so quickly. He breathed calmly, and placed his other foot onto the water. From here, he took small steps, clumsily but assuredly mastering the exercise. Tomorrow, he was going to take the graduation exam, two years early. He could perform the basic three; the substitution, clone and henge techniques. He finished all of the theory-based subjects a few weeks ago, and he was theoretically on the pre-exam break.

"I think-" Naruto summarily squeaked and fell back into the water, "-that you've done enough today. Celebratory lunch?" Kakashi asked, grinning. "Don't want to tire yourself out with your exam tomorrow."

"Y-yeah, of course sensei," Naruto grumbled, climbing out of the water and drying himself off again.

Kakashi hummed, "you've gotten good at that." He was referring, of course, to the minor fire technique. It was a simple one designed to push fire-aligned chakra to the surface of the skin, but not combusting it. Good for warming up and drying off.

"Thanks!" Naruto grinned. He was good at ninjutsu, or he liked to think so at least. Kakashi said so. He'd learned the academy three, shunshin and now the 'warming technique' - he wasn't sure if it had a real name. Sensei apparently wasn't allowed to teach a civilian - him - anything more difficult or useful until he was a genin. He then shrugged and said something about clan privilege. In the end, Naruto was busy enough just finishing the academy anyway, and Kakashi seemed to have an endless supply of techniques to increase his chakra-control.

Like walking on trees with your hands.

"So, you'll be a ninja soon..." Kakashi said conversationally. The two were walking to a sushi place Kakashi had introduced him to.

"Yeah," Naruto shrugged, "what of it?"

"I was just wondering, Naruto; do you have any dreams?" Kakashi stopped walking pointedly, and looked up towards the clouds, hands in his pockets. It was a bit random, but... "Anything you want to do? You've said you wanted to become hokage, but is that everything?" There was a weight behind Kakashi's question that Naruto didn't know what to do with.

"Err," Naruto hadn't stopped walking, because he was actually really hungry - so Kakashi caught up and kept level with him. "Not really... I don't know," he scratched the back of his head, a habit he probably wouldn't get rid of, and shrugged. "Well, I'm going to be hokage and that's that. What about you, sensei?"

"Me?" Kakashi muttered. "Well, I just want my friends to be proud of me. That might not mean much to you, though." Naruto's eye twitched, was Kakashi trying to say he didn't have friends?

"I don't think I need another dream," Naruto murmured. Really, he didn't think it mattered much. He was going to be hokage even if it killed him, anything else can come after that. It would be hard enough just doing that, so in Naruto's mind anything else would just be in the way.

"You need to make some friends," Kakashi chuckled. "Too much training and no play will make you bored and boring." He hummed, ' _like me. I guess it could be worse.'_

Naruto scoffed with a smile. "Friends like Gai?"

Kakashi blanched. "Y-yes, friends like Gai... Huh, I almost see your point kid." It was mostly a joke. If he had to be honest about it, he might almost consider Gai to be a brother. Almost. An insane brother if any.

"Hey, sensei? Am I getting teammates?" Naruto asked curiously. It was evident by the consciously controlled tone that it'd been premeditated. Kakashi wondered for a moment how long the kid must've been worried about it, and why he hadn't already asked.

"Iruka made it clear that he thinks you should have teammates," Kakashi answered carefully. "But-" he said, cutting off a potential reply, "what do _you_ want?"

"That's easy," Naruto nodded, "I just want to learn by myself, look where that's gotten me; I'm graduating early!" he boasted.

"It's made you alone," Kakashi snickered, "that's where it's taken you. I think I'm more useful teaching three genin than one, but if you really want to be selfi-"

"Fine," Naruto grouched, his stomach growling. "But you better be buying lunch."

He chuckled, "of course Naruto. Of course."

* * *

' _The academy again_ ,' Kakashi clicked his tongue, entering the main foyer and following the halls to a room marked the same as his invite. When he entered, he found a long desk with... well, the Hokage was playing with his smoke again, besides a terribly amused Iruka. That was Naruto's academy teacher. Kakashi cleared his throat while the Hokage was busily shaping his next puff into a familiar rendition of- ah. An _Icha Icha_ fan. He didn't hear it.

" _Hokage-sama_ ," Iruka said, coughing meaningfully with red dusted cheeks.

"Ah?" The Hokage blinked, and the smoke lost shape. "Oh, Kakashi! How nice of you to finally make it here," the old man made a show of pulling back his sleeve and examining a non-existent watch, "two hours late."

"That's me," Kakashi shrugged, it was a familiar conversation, and sat across from the two in a vacant chair. It was comfortable; had a nice texture. "I take it he passed?"

"Naruto? Of course!" Iruka answered, smiling. He had been vaguely annoyed when one of his students was split between him and another a little while ago, but the results didn't lie and Iruka had grown to forgive it. "He's not the top of the year, but he's not at the bottom either; but at his age that's impressive already." It wasn't particularly rare, he was one of a handful graduating early this year, but it was regardless well done. He was one of two of the students graduating early that Iruka had personally taught - the very first students he'd taught who had graduated. He was very proud of them.

"Teammates?" Hiruzen asked, a question mark of smoke making its place above his head. Evidently, he had taken the time the two were talking to refill his pipe.

Kakashi nodded, so Iruka brought a small stack of paper to his attention, which he moved across the table for Kakashi's perusal. "These are most of the other graduates, those graduating early are on the top," Iruka explained.

"What kind of personality do you think would mix well with Naruto?" Hiruzen asked, having his own identical pile in front of him for his own perusal. "He's always seemed lonely. I've never heard a peep out of his mouth about his friends."

"Well..." Kakashi chuckled morosely, "you're not wrong, Hokage-sama. He's very focused."

* * *

It was a bit awkward for Naruto, waiting for the room of graduates to fill up. He didn't know anyone, and almost all of them were older than him, a bit taller and just a bit bigger. He would know; he had a good view of them from a desk at the back. He was sitting besides an inexhaustively eating Akimichi, and his other side was empty.

"Wanna bag of chips?" the kid offered, voice somewhat muffled by the same such snack. Darn, even the kid busy eating had noticed his nerves.

Naruto nodded quickly. "Yeah, do you have something sweet?" The boy rummaged through his pockets, apparently found something and with a bit of a 'tada' showed it to Naruto. "Sweet chili? Thanks!"

' _Take that, I can make friends._ ' Naruto thought with a chuckle, now much more comfortable as he snacked. It was not long after this that everyone was seated and the chunin at the front of the room made to stand.

"Hello everyone, my name is Mizuki. You are here because you've graduated from the academy," he spent a moment clapping, a bit patronizingly in Naruto's opinion. Even he knew it was a bit forced. "Congratulations. I'll now tell you who your teammates are and who will be teaching you, please pay attention. Team one..."

"Hey," Naruto whispered, poking the larger boy. "What's your name?" he asked the Akimichi.

He cleared his throat, "I'm Doza Akimichi, at your service. Need more chips?" He went back to nomming, but kept his gaze to the blond.

"Ah, no thank you. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you. Thanks for the food." He offered his hand, which the Akimichi shook. Nice. Upon reflection, that was probably the most he'd talked to another student. Huh. He's up to team 4. Nope, nope, nope. Not my team.

"Team 5; you are Hana Inuzuka, Naruto Uzumaki and Shino Aburame. Your teacher is Kakashi Hatake. Team 6, you are-"

Okay. Naruto felt like he _should_ know who Shino is, but he had no idea about the Inuzuka. He checked his pouch to find something to do.

* * *

The girl was nice enough, besides a remark about Naruto 'smelling funny', a statement that Naruto steered well away from addressing. As he had expected, they were the last team present. Having spent the year with Kakashi, Naruto was well-prepared and was reading a book, whistling away the time like a professional.

" _Please_ stop whistling," Hana whined, rubbing her face into her hands. Whistling really made her harried.

Right. He wasn't supposed to be doing that. That was maybe the third time she'd asked, too.

"So uh, both of you graduated early huh?" she asked. Shino had moved to sit besides Naruto and Hana was a row down, sitting on the desk and staring at the two inquisitively. She had puppies - which made Naruto want puppies, because they were adorable - napping on the desk around her.

Naruto let Shino have this one, he felt kind of bad that he didn't recognize him earlier - and he was reading anyway.

"Yes, we have. Why? Because the academy curriculum is simple and minimalist." Hana didn't seem to know how to respond, and Naruto didn't blame her.

"I was tutored," Naruto offered, shrugging. "So it was easier for me I guess." Shino perked up, and Hana hummed in thought.

"I lost a lot of training time looking after these kids," she motioned to the dogs lying doggo, "they were lousy puppies. When I had spare time I was learning my clan jutsu instead of the academy stuff, so," Hana shrugged.

"Hey Shino, you have to do clan stuff too don't you? How did you have the time to graduate early?" Naruto asked curiously, he evidently hadn't paid much attention to the other students in his classes.

He had the sudden impression that Shino was smiling, even if he couldn't see it. "Why? Because I am a genius. As well, my kikaichu don't suffer from the maintenance that Hana's triplets do."

"At least they won't eat me though," Hana muttered in recompense, she moved her arm and moved her head into her hand. They were all getting bored.

Shino nodded and an odd buzzing could suddenly be heard resonating from the boy. "Unless they are infected. Why? Because they may revert to their baser instincts and you may seem delicious. Why? Bec-"

"That's enough I think, Shino," Naruto laughed awkwardly. Oh boy, this was going to be interesting. He memorized the page number, closed his book and put it into one of his pockets, since he wasn't reading it anymore anyway. "So what do you two like doing? I like training."

"I like discovering and breeding new species of insect," Shino answered. "Why? Because it will allow me to be more effective and helpful within my team."

"Well," she kicked her feet, "I like to volunteer at the vet in our compound sometimes."

Silence. The three didn't really know each other and none of them wanted to be the one to break the silence. Awkward.

Then, the door to the class opened and a silver mop introduced himself to the room. "Team 5? Well, aren't you a lively bunch. Follow me."

None of them talked as Kakashi led the genin to training ground 3. Eventually, the silver-haired jounin took his place on a tree-stump, and motioned his followers to sit.

"So; my name is Kakashi Hatake, and I'm supposed to be the one to train you. I already know Naruto, and I vaguely know about you two as well; Hana, Shino." He nodded in their directions. "But; your graduating does _not_ mean I have to teach you. So!" Kakashi ignored Naruto's inquisitive gaze, and pulled from his pouch two small silver balls hanging from short simple strings. "These are bells," he ringed them for emphasis, "and they'll be attached right here." He stood up and tied them to his waist, on his right side. "Your goal is to take them from me. Anyone without a bell when the timer runs out will be placed into the genin pool - and believe me, it's rough. Questions?"

"How long do we have?" Shino asked immediately. Naruto merely sat there looking conflicted.

"Three hours," Kakashi answered, pulling from his pouch a small clock and placing it on the stump behind him.

"But- wait," Hana waved her hands abruptly, "there's only two bells, and-"

"Correct!" Kakashi eye-smiled, cutting her off but offering no explanation. "And you start..." his hand hovered over the clock, "n-"

"Guys, wait!" Naruto said quickly, before the other two genin could leave. This had the effect of stalling Kakashi, who looked on curiously. "I think we should just agree that whoever gets it, gets it - and work together. Trust me, we can't beat Kakashi." Naruto pleaded. The two stared at him for a moment. Neither were particularly keen on facing the man on their own either.

"I agree," Shino said evenly. "It is illogical to assume that we must fight him on our own. Why? Because he is a jonin." He adjusted his posture and shifted his feet, assuming a taijutsu stance. "Hana?" Kakashi sighed and pulled out his book, maybe he could enjoy a chapter while they figured things out.

"Uh, but-" Hana was conflicted; she _really_ wanted to pass, but she wasn't an idiot - if this was how she had to do it, this is how she had to do it. "I guess. But I'm getting a bell, capiche?" She steadied her breathing and shifted into a taijutsu stance, arms raised and ninken tensed around her.

Surprisingly, they both nodded. "Understood." Naruto grinned and assumed his own stance. It was of Kakashi's own taijutsu style, taught to him by the man himself; left leg behind, right leg forward, left hand held over the forward leg and right hand held beneath the chin.

Kakashi frowned. Not even a chapter. Sighing, he put the book back into his pocket and raised his hand back over the clock. "Alright," he chuckles, " _now_."

 _Clink._

To his credit, Naruto only hesitated for a moment. He moved quickly, and struck out with his right fist. Kakashi shunted it to his own left, shifted to the right and threw an elbow hard into Naruto's back, sending him sprawling towards the ground. He was immediately followed by Hana, who struck with a kick - Kakashi ducked, held her leg to his shoulder and twisted, throwing her to the ground. Hana landed on her hands, freed her leg and spun into a kick that knocked Kakashi off of his feet.

One of her ninken leapt for the bells, the other two intent on taking his hands - but his form dispersed into smoke as he hit the ground and the dogs each found themselves headbutting a log.

Kakashi came to his senses just in time to block a punch from Shino, deflecting the next and lashing out with his own. Shino caught it, shunted it to the side, caught the next and ducked a kick - barely, small scraps of his hair falling about his face.

"You're well trained," Kakashi acknowledged, he shifted away from a punch and pulled the genin into an oncoming Naruto, who vaulted over Shino's shoulder and kicked at Kakashi's. He ducked, shifted and struck Naruto's stomach - but Naruto caught it, spun over Kakashi and tried to kick him upside the head. Kakashi ducked, spun and kicked Naruto away in time to side-step a lunge from a pair of the haimaru triplets, only to be assaulted again by a recovered Shino who co-ordinated with Hana, putting pressure on the jonin.

Kakashi caught their punches, ducked a kick from Hana, sidestepped a punch from Shino and grabbed the pair's shoulders, performing a handstand twisting and kicking them both forward, into a recovered Naruto.

The three fell into a pile and while Kakashi was genuinely impressed, he had a lot to teach them. "If I was a hostile shinobi, all three of you would be dead, so we'll have to work on that - assuming you pass. You are doing well, though, so kudos."

"You're so hip, sensei..." Shino grumbled, making Kakashi sweat all of a sudden. That was suspiciously familiar.

"Lesson two-" Kakashi begun.

"There hasn't even been a lesson _one_ yet!" Hana rebutted, the trio up on their feet and the ninken rearing to go.

"Ah, that was taijutsu," Kakashi nodded, even though he was the one talking. "Now lesson two; ninjutsu!" Naruto gulped audibly, causing his teammates to spare him a glance. They didn't know what Naruto knew, but they both immediately felt an eerie sense of foreboding.

Kakashi put his hands together, grinned, and far faster than the genin could ever hope to follow, he spun through hand-seals. "Just give me a moment to get this ready, ne?" The jonin leapt back, creating distance between him and the genin, before the earth between them broke apart, shooting up and away from them and falling harmlessly among the trees. Now, it was dramatic - but harmless.

"Little known fact, but..." Kakashi grinned, "training ground 3 contains an underground lake." He leapt down into the new, wide arena. A dozen feet down he landed on the surface of the water, crouching. The genin peered in unwittingly and felt their hearts drop. "The bells are down here, you know." He pat his side where they resided and they gave off a pleasant chime. "So you'll have to come get them." He wasn't done yet though. While the genin looked around the arena and conversed, hopefully trying to come up with a battle plan, Kakashi raised his hands together, breathed and spun through another set of hand-seals. This one, much more complicated; he would name.

The genin caught on to what he was doing and stared awkwardly waiting for something to happen. They were evidently in need of something long-range, and they'd have to practice water-walking after this too.

"Alright!" Kakashi grinned, he was perhaps getting a bit too worked up, but nothing quite motivated students like seeing- " _Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu_!" -a dragon. Kakashi breathed slowly, evenly, and -keeping one hand in the bird seal- released his other hand and armed himself with a kunai - but he wouldn't be moving. The water dragon, large and oscillating, swam through the air in a lazy circle around the jonin.

It was very intimidating, and made Kakashi look quite impressive.

"Is it too late to give up?" Naruto murmured, not particularly comfortable with going anywhere near the beast. He wasn't good enough at water-walking yet to warrant even trying. He glanced at his impromptu team. They talked before it showed up, and Shino was the only one confident enough to fight on the water.

Hana shook her head, "he won't kill us, so we should at least try." Naruto saw the logic, but it wasn't particularly comforting. The dogs couldn't swim well enough to be of any help, so they were sitting out now.

"Right, we should try." Shino nodded. "Why? Because in trying now, we will be better equipped should we ever run into a similar situation."

"R-right," Naruto breathed, "alright, let's plan. I won't be totally useless."

* * *

Kakashi wasn't particularly good at counting time, but he was good at timing. So, while the three were huddled and sufficiently distracted, in deep conversation about _something_ , he decided he'd used enough chakra showing off. He returned his other hand to the seal.

"Err, guys..." Hana interrupted the two, taking a step back in obvious panic. She was the one positioned to look over the lake.

"What?" Naruto asked, annoyed. He thought his idea was brilliant, and was a bit put off.

Shino followed her gaze. "I suggest we move. Why? Because there is a dragon coming this way. Why? Because-"

" _Not the time!"_ Hana yelped, quickly grabbing the two other genin by the shoulder and vainly trying to pull them all out of the way. The group was too close to the edge of the makeshift arena, and the dragon swiftly crashed into the ground beneath them.

"Shit!" Naruto cussed as the three were thrown off their feet and sent tumbling to the waters below. Shino landed first - being the closest to the edge - and quickly assisted Naruto in landing on his feet before the two caught the tumbling Inuzuka. The triplets were thankfully left on the ridge, looking down on them and whining.

"Hahh, thanks!" Hana said with an awkward grin, before accepting a piggy-back ride from Shino. She had confided in them that she hadn't even begun to learn the water-walking technique, and Shino being Shino was the most fluent in it. The three were now wet, dirty and when Kakashi walked up to them; still quite paranoid.

"Well!" Kakashi eye-smiled, and took out a camera from his waist-pocket. "Say cheese!"

"Huh?" the three collectively gasped, as the flash went off in sync with an alarm in the distance.

Kakashi nodded at his camera, pleased. "You all pass, by the way. Meet me here tomorrow!"

"W-wait what?!" Naruto and Hana asked in surprise, but their sensei was already gone.

Hana tapped Shino on the shoulder, prompting a grunt.

"Mind getting me out of here?"

* * *

His fingers brushed off the dust over a very specific spot on the stone, and Kakashi smiled wistfully, though it was hidden by his mask.

"Your son is officially my responsibility now, sensei. I can teach him whatever I want now. I'll do my best to look out for him." Kakashi put his hands into his pockets and looked down, sighing. "You're crazy, you know. You and your plans too. I won't forgive you for killing yourself like that, but I won't let it go to waste. I promise." He shook his head and looked skywards, up to and through the clouds. "I know you're there somewhere, judging me." Maybe, just maybe; he was insane. It didn't matter. It wouldn't effect his work ethic.

Naruto was more important than he could possibly know, and now that he'd graduated - some secrets can come out. Kakashi has a _lot_ to teach the kid, and he'd spent the last year setting the foundations. Kakashi personally progressed through the ranks quickly, and he was sure that if the blond was focused that he'd be just as fast - he'd just started later. Perhaps he might even drag his teammates with him.

Kakashi didn't have that luxury, but lightning never strikes the same place twice. Unlike his own genin team, these kids aren't growing up in the middle of a war. It'd take a serious misjudgment to get them killed in peace-time.

Right?

Maybe he was being overly paranoid - actually, he had trouble believing that was possible - but he had a feeling he would need to be extra careful on their first missions out of the village.

* * *

Author's note:

I de-aged Hana by a few years to fit her in, and Shino was a no-brainer. Danzo attempted to recruit him into Root at one point in the anime, when he was a child - and we know that man has standards - so it's not so ridiculous to say that he graduated early, right? Regardless, I guess this is an AU anyway. Thanks for the pleasant response to the prologue.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, a lot of this was just the necessary, boring foundations, and the fight scene might be a bit screwy, I have no idea. Cheers!

-Story rating changed from M - T - M. Aha.


	3. Chapter 3

Kakashi is rather proactive in this fic, isn't he?

There's lots of scene breaks in this one, with Naruto getting his explanations and the initial training being fast-forwarded.

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

Of the genin, Naruto was the first one to make it to the training ground the next morning. Suspiciously, Kakashi was already there and waiting, reading his smut. Dawn was just breaking, so it was a wonder to the blond that the perpetually late man was on time.

"Uh, hey sensei!" Naruto called, stopping by the ridge of the lake. Kakashi had sat below on the water, reading his smut.

"Naruto!" Kakashi said, "good to see you. Now we can start." He put the book away and stood, making his way over to the blond, who looked conflicted.

"What about Shino? Hana? Shouldn't we wait for them?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head.

Kakashi shook his head, jumping up and onto the ridge besides the genin. "I've already talked to them," he explained, "since they've graduated they're taking a couple weeks off to learn their clan jutsu, which I think is a good idea. That leaves you and me."

"Like usual, huh?" Naruto smiled, "cool."

"Except," Kakashi crossed his arms with an eye-smile, "this time you have clearance! But..."

"...You're going to make me finish water-walking first, aren't you?" Naruto grimaced. "Can I learn something cool first? Like how to spit balls of fire? Please?"

Kakashi sighed, rolling his eye. "I'll do you one better; a technique to make training easier. How does that sound?"

The way Naruto's eyes sparkled almost made Kakashi regret his statement. "Yes! What is it, some super-secret mind jutsu? Oh-oh! Does it give me perfect memory? Does it... does it let me use _your_ memories? Kakashi-sensei? Tell me! It's not a genjutsu is it? I have problems with genjutsu."

Kakashi opened his mouth, closed it, raised a finger and then lowered it. "N-not quite, no. I'm going to teach you this-" he spun through handseals, and in a burst of smoke a doppelganger appeared beside him, "-how to make a shadow clone."

"A clone?" Naruto said in disappointment, eye twitching. "I already know how to make clones. What's the difference? How is that going to help me train?"

The clone bopped him on the head, and opened its mouth. "One, shadow clones are physical. Two, they retain a memory; when this clone disperses-" the clone popped, and Kakashi took over, "-I get the clone's memories. This way, anything the clone learns the creator learns as well. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Oooooh," Naruto's mouth hung open. "Why doesn't everybody do it then?"

"They don't have the chakra," Kakashi shrugged, "I suspect you might be the only one in the village that could actually train this way effectively. I hope you're ready to exercise, because once you learn this jutsu that's most of what _you_ will be doing, since clones can't do that for you. Now, are you ready to learn?"

"Yeah! I'm ready." He was pumped.

* * *

In the end, Naruto could make eleven clones with high enough chakra reserves for Kakashi to actually train. Evidently the blond's chakra was more concentrated than it seemed, because Kakashi had estimated - with his sharingan - that he'd be able to make about six at most.

While he had his own clone instructing the genin's clones, Kakashi himself ran besides the real one. "What are you teaching my- er, me, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, huffing slightly. He was better off than Kakashi, who had resorted to carefully steadying his breathing - they'd been jogging for half the day at a ninja's pace and that was exhaustive.

"A little bit of everything," Kakashi answered smoothly, "groups of two, for each chakra nature. The last one's doing water-walking." Kakashi had done the bare minimum in exercise over the last few years, so his stamina had slowly deteriorated - and it was showing. He would be fixing that if he was going to be keeping up with his students.

"Cool," he grinned, "because running is kind of boring." It was oddly relaxing though, in a weird way. But- his stomach grumbled and he blushed. "I think all this running is making me hungry."

"It's about time to stop for lunch anyway," Kakashi muttered, changing direction. Naruto followed as they turned off from the training ground and towards the market district.

* * *

"Say, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, staring down into his empty bowl, hands folded on the table.

"Yes?" Kakashi said, raising a concerned eyebrow.

Naruto released a breath. "Why- err," he looked up and into Kakashi's eye, narrowing his own. "Why is my chakra different to everybody elses'?"

Oh. Kakashi glanced to the entrance of the noodle shop they'd stopped to eat in. Business was light this early and they sat in an out of the way corner. "Well," he tapped the table absentmindedly, "why makes you so sure that it's different?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "besides the meeting with Jiji before we started training? The color's wrong, I see it every time we've done any kind of chakra-control exercise. Mine's grey - or silver, I don't know - yours is blue, Shino's chakra is blue and I didn't get to see Hana's but I bet hers is blue too. My chakra feels cold - I never heard anyone complaining about it in the academy, but it's _really_ cold - hell, Hana even said I _smelled_ funny! I was wearing clean clothes and I showered that morning, what does that even mean! I just... what's wrong with me?" he rubbed his face into his hands, releasing an aggravated sigh. "How the _hell_ does chakra feel cold anyway? That's so weird, but I never really-"

"Oi, I get it, I get it. Calm down, Naruto," Kakashi said quickly, interrupting. He moved a finger to his lips (or the mask covering his lips, rather) in the universal sign of 'be quiet'. "Honestly, I thought you were going to ask about it months ago, relax." He received an intense glare in return. " _But_ it's a long story and this isn't the place to tell it."

Naruto got up from his chair and motioned towards the exit. "Let's go then."

Kakashi sighed, standing. "Don't forget who's in charge here."

* * *

Upon making his way back into the training ground, Naruto stopped and stared at the myriad of clones holding and staring at, of all things; leaves, and intently too. "Just what are you making them do?" Naruto asked, pausing and raising an eyebrow. Kakashi, who was following closely but apparently lost in thought, looked up at the question.

"What? Oh, the easiest way to learn how to control elemental chakra is by using the chakra on something thin, so you can see what you're doing wrong," Kakashi answered, shrugging. "A leaf fits the bill. Paper's fine too."

Naruto hummed non-commitedly, walking over to the tree-stump they'd started the bell test beside and taking a seat, turning to face the jonin who'd spent the last year training him. He didn't even know why the man was so keen to help him. Naruto's eyes softened at the thought. "What don't I know?"

"There's a lot of things you don't know," Kakashi said grimly. He sat down, not minding the dirt or the grass, and made himself comfortable. "And there's a lot I'll to have to tell you too, so don't worry about it. First, what do you know about the seal on your body?"

"It's for holding something," Naruto said, frowning. He'd 'unlocked' his chakra over a year ago, with Kakashi, and noticed it during a shower at one point while he was playing with his chakra. From there he went over his academy textbooks, but there was only so much on fuinjutsu and the only similarities to what he had and what he could find was with parts of a storage seal. He hadn't asked about it because he didn't think it was that important, then he got distracted and more or less forgot about it in the end. "I don't know what, and I don't know why."

Kakashi hummed, glad that the blond had at least noticed it. "What do you know of the kyuubi's attack, ten years ago?"

"I know it was on my birthday," Naruto answered easily, "and that the fourth hokage sacrificed his life to kill it. What does that have to do with my seal? Did the hokage make it? What would the Kyuubi attack have to do with it? Why do they put seals on babies? Why would-"

"Ahem!" Kakashi coughed into his fist, "let me answer first." He took a deep breath, he decided getting it over with quickly was the way to go. "Naruto, the tailed beasts are indestructable. The only way to defeat them is to seal them. The only way the kyuubi has ever been sealed successfully is within an Uzumaki. Naruto, _you protect the entire village by holding the beast within yourself_. That is purpose of the seal on your stomach." A pin dropping would've been heard in the ensuring silence, even on the grass. Perhaps he was laying on too much at once.

"Wh-wai-what?" Naruto stuttered, slipping off the stump in his shock and whacking his head on the ground. "Ow! I mean, _what?_ I have the _what_ inside me? Why is it inside me?! I mean, you just said why, but- what do you even mean by 'an Uzumaki _'_? What's the difference? Why would-"

Kakashi scoffed, his mask hiding his smile; his genin's reactions were cute in a way. "Calm down. You've had it for ten years, nothing's changing."

"B-why would- is that why everyone ignores me? In the village, I mean? Is that why the orphanage-" Naruto paused. "They kicked me out of the orphanage because of a _seal_? What the hell! Why didn't _I_ know about it?" Naruto was on his feet now, walking in circles around the stump and ranting. "Is that why my chakra is all weird? Why would the kyuubi be cold? Is that why everyone's parents kept their kids away from me when I was younger? Hey! You knew too, and you didn't tell me! What the hell sensei, I thought you were cool! Couldn't you just- I don't know, but don't you think- why didn't anybody tell me, _and what was that about the Uzumaki?_ Do I have a bloodline?"

Kakashi coughed, "I did just tell you." This knocked the wind out of his sails, and the blond just collapsed onto the dirt, heaving a sigh. "But yes; the Uzumaki is an old bloodline promoting longevity, and no - that's not why your chakra is different. The kyuubi has nothing to do with it either."

"There's _more_?" Naruto asked, running his hands over his face grimly. "Alright, shoot."

"Are you ready for more?" Kakashi asked, eyebrow raised. "Don't you think-"

"It's too late now," Naruto interrupted glibly. "Besides, I should know. Please?"

"Well," Kakashi leaned back onto his hands, "I'll have to start with the basics. When the fourth hokage sealed the kyuubi into you, he - well... he summoned the shinigami to do it for him." He paused to let the blond work that through his head.

"The god..." Naruto tested his tongue, "of death? Why would - is that why he died?"

"Yes," Kakashi nodded, "in summoning the shinigami, his soul was forfeit. The _Dead Demon Consuming Seal_ \- the basis for what is on your stomach - is provided by the shinigami; its their own design. But the fourth wrote his own seals onto you _beforehand_ , changing its function. Now, I wouldn't have a clue what he did and you'd have to be a seal master to understand it yourself, but the chakra you're using isn't... it isn't your natural chakra, but it isn't the kyuubi's either."

"So I have two seals on my stomach?" Naruto blinked, looking down oddly. "And what is my chakra then?" He brought it to his hand and watched as the silver chakra flowed around and threaded through his fingers as he called on it.

"Er, no. It's one seal, just modified. We don't _know_ what it is, but we think..." Kakashi paused, the idea of it honestly sounded ludicrous - Naruto motioned for him to continue. "We - or at least, the hokage - thinks you have the same chakra as..." would he even believe it? Kakashi himself has issues with rationalizing it. Maybe if he was better with seals...

"What?" Naruto asked, annoyed. "The same chakra as _wh_ -"

"-the shinigami." Kakashi grunted.

" _What?_ "

"..."

" _What?!_ "

"Naruto..."

* * *

Hiruzen hurriedly shoved something into a desk drawer when someone knocked on the door to his office. "Yes, come in!" _Slam_ and _click_ , the drawer was locked. Kakashi entered, so as is his habit he took the time to refill his pipe while he waited for the man to speak.

"He asked about his chakra," Kakashi explained, sitting down in the chair in front of the hokage's desk. "It went as well as it should have."

"Oh, it's about time, that. So he knows about the Kyuubi," Kakashi nodded, "what we know of the chakra," he nodded again, "and of his-" he shook his head.

"He didn't ask, Hokage-sama. I briefly went over his bloodline, though."

"I'm not surprised," Hiruzen mused. "It's for the better that he doesn't know about his parents yet, let him focus on his chakra for a while. See what he can do with it. What are your plans for helping him to utilize it?" There was an even dozen of techniques the hokage could come up with off the top of his head that the blond would particularly benefit from.

Kakashi hummed in thought. "I think the most useful technique-" Hiruzen rose an eyebrow," - _arguably_ would be opening the first gate."

"Oh?" Hiruzen blinked, leaning back in his chair and tapping his desk. "You intend to teach him shape manipulation. The _Gate of Opening_... for removing the limiter on his chakra. That's rather ingenious, Kakashi."

He nodded, "thank you Hokage-sama. He has so much chakra that I don't think anything is stopping him from using it to protect himself. With the unique characteristics of his chakra, access to all of it at any one time would only be beneficial."

"Just make sure he keeps some in his coils," Hiruzen said, nodding. "As an Uzumaki he shouldn't suffer any permanent damage, and the first gate is fairly safe regardless. What would you teach him next?"

"What would you recommend?"

"There's a lot to go through. First, what's his nature?"

"Wind. Water might be his secondary, lightning his worst," Kakashi answered easily, he'd already started on elemental chakra manipulation with the clones after all.

"Alright," Hiruzen smiled, "let's make a list."

* * *

It rained overnight and the grass crunched beneath Naruto's feet as he paced, back and forth. They were back in training ground 3 the very next day. "So my chakra cancels out other chakra? If I lose just as much chakra is that even useful? Do I have a lot of it?"

"Mm," Kakashi nodded, "I have average reserves for a jonin," he admitted, "but you have much more than I do. It's a part of your bloodline."

"Oh." Naruto paused and swerved to face the jonin sitting on the log. Their clones were training behind the jonin, going through the basics of some simple ninjutsu Kakashi said he should learn. "Okay, I guess. Does that mean if I hit someone with a ninjutsu that they both get hurt _and_ lose a bunch of chakra too? Or does their chakra cancel it out? Does mine cancel out if they hit me? Man, my chakra is confusing."

Kakashi chuckled. "Chakra is internal, so it won't be stopping any jutsu, but it won't effect their chakra too much either - or it might, we don't know how your chakra works yet. That," his lone visible eye took on a greedy sheen, "actually leads into something else I wanted to teach you. What do you know about shape manipulation?"

"Err," Naruto hesitated, "I don't think we learn about it in the academy."

"I suppose not," Kakashi said, "okay. Well, it's basically the direct manipulation of chakra, without hand seals. As an example..." He extended his right arm and held it by the wrist with the other hand. Focusing, chakra visibly swirled into a small ball, which grew under their gazes until it was about the size of his hand. "This is the rasengan. Pure shape manipulation, no hand seals, and powerful." Kakashi punctuated the point by walking up to a tree and pushing against it with the jutsu, the ball exploding outwards at the point of contact and collapsing the tree with a dramatic bang.

"Woah," Naruto whistled, watching as Kakashi leapt back to avoid being crushed. "Did you make that jutsu? Can I learn how to do that?"

Kakashi shook his head. "The rasengan was invented by the fourth hokage," every conversation he had with the kid these days seemed to involve the man, "and you can learn it later, what's important now is some simple shape manipulation."

"Ah, okay." Naruto sighed. He sat on the grass, ignoring the way it made his trousers wet, and stared up at his sensei on the stump. "What _are_ you teaching me then?"

"I'm not sure," Kakashi shrugged. "I want you to try to release as much chakra as you can for me. Just... surround yourself with it, not in any particular shape."

Naruto blinked, "I guess I can try." He stood up and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Alright, the _henge_ technique was vaguely similar to what he was trying to do, so he tried to move his chakra outwards in a similar way.

"You're losing it. Try to keep it within your control."

Naruto responded by making a conscious effort to keep a hold of his chakra, while simultaneously pushing more of it outwards. It was really difficult to do, and he only had a small fraction - maybe a tenth of it out of his coils - before he simply couldn't control it anymore. "That's as much as I can do," Naruto said, opening his eyes.

He gasped at what he saw. "That's cool." The chakra - a pretty silver - flowed around him sporadically, too sparse to block his vision in any way. He stared down at his hands, and to his feet. He moved forward and back, watching as the chakra stayed in place around him as he kept his grasp on it. "I like it. What's the point of it? Do you think this would stop someone else's chakra, like a shield?" It wasn't really the right shape for a shield, being wavy and all over the place, but that didn't really matter. Maybe it was more like armor.

"Maybe," Kakashi muttered. He didn't expect the blond to be so successful so quickly, at least not before practicing first. "Focus on the front, and we'll test it." Naruto gulped, but the chakra around him actively shifted and his front seemed more concentrated - if barely. "Alright..." Kakashi raised a hand, the other in his pocket, and used an old favorite. " _Suiton: Suishoha_." The front of his hand glistened, and from it shot a pressured blast of water - water entirely made of chakra.

Having been standing close to the jonin, Naruto barely resisted ducking, and flinched as it struck him.

Except it didn't. The cloak Naruto had formed, as unpracticed and sporadic as it was, shrunk - and the jutsu Kakashi used simply melted on contact. "Huh."

"I-it worked?" Naruto gasped, "oh that is _so_ awesome."

To Kakashi, actively seeing the different chakra in action made it seem so much more _real_. The kid really had something going here. He pulled a familiar clock from his pouch and set it on the stump, quickly reading it.

"We have a long day ahead," Kakashi eye-smiled, "have you ever heard of the eight gates?"

* * *

A few weeks later found Shino and Hana joining the team meetings, and that same day Kakashi signed the genin up for D-ranks and left to do his own missions for the month. A jonin assigned to a genin team only typically joined their team on missions outside of the village, otherwise it was a waste of resources. It seemed like Kakashi was satisfied with staving off training them as a team until later down the road.

"Stupid dog! Stop trying to run off!" Naruto complained, pulling on his leash and sending the overly-energetic dalmation reeling back with a yelp.

"Hey!" Hana growled, "careful with the dogs!"

"That's easy for you to say," Naruto muttered, quickly stepping back to avoid a swipe at his ankles, "yours isn't being dumb. Shino's isn't either. This D-rank is stupid." He could _hear_ Hana's malevolent grin forming and wisely shut up.

"This D-rank is not stupid. Why? Because missions do not have consciousness. However, I will agree that doing this D-rank is a waste of time," Shino proclaimed wisely. Naruto had been thinking lately that maybe Shino was an alien, but at least he was an agreeable alien.

"Thank you Shino," Naruto said grimly, shaking his head while Hana stifled a laugh behind her hands.

She eventually stopped and sighed pleasantly. "Well, I think this D-rank is easy."

"Because it's about dogs." Naruto and Shino blinked, staring at one another. Shino seemed pleasantly surprised. ' _Great,_ ' Naruto thought, ' _we're becoming one_.'

"I guess," the girl snickered. "Say, Naruto - what's training with Kakashi-sensei like?" Hana asked curiously, since Naruto was the only one the man had taught since the formation of Team 5, and Naruto had previously admitted that he was his tutor during the academy as well.

Naruto took a moment to think about it before answering. "I guess he's... he's really smart, and always seems to know what he should teach me. I wasn't doing very well in the academy until he showed up, and then... well, here I am - only a year later!" he smiled. "I like Kakashi-sensei. He's a good teacher. He always has ninjutsu to teach me, and that's probably my favorite thing to learn, I'm good at it."

"Ninjutsu huh?" Hana muttered, careful not to step on her own ninken as the triplets ran around the group's feet, biting at each other's tails. "I'm not very good at ninjutsu," she admitted, "but I'm good at taijutsu. Shino?"

"I like them both," Shino answered. "My clan's techniques are predominantly ninjutsu, so that is my focus."

The group, satisfied with their short conversation, returned to mindlessly taking the dogs for their morning walk. After getting their mission signed off, they left the dog shelter to return to the mission office in the Hokage's tower.

"Team 5!" Iruka greeted them as they made their way to his desk. The room was large, round and covered along the walls by other desks similarly covered with paperwork and manned by working chunin. A few other groups of genin and a handful of chunin also seemed to be picking up missions. They handed Iruka the completed mission statement and the man fiddled with some paperwork for a moment with a friendly hum. "Finished it nice and early, good job. Do you three want to take another job? There's plenty to go around."

The three looked amongst themselves and seeing no objection, Hana stepped forward and nodded.

That was how their first month as working genin went; racking up D-ranks and training in their own time.


	4. Chapter 4

_This chapter really pronounces the differences, and Naruto finally becomes the actual focus of the story._

 **[Revised: 7/11/2018]**

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

After a long day spent painting houses, the genin separated to do their own thing and Naruto found himself visiting the library. He used to spend a lot of his spare time reading, inspired by Kakashi-sensei, but lately he'd had less time to do it – he hadn't visited since before making genin, in fact - and he figured he'd take the time to pick up another book or two tonight.

The library was shaped somewhat like a dome. The ground floor was full of tables and rows upon rows of bookshelves, everything situated here being available to the public. All of the other floors were a circular shape, going around the center of the building - the bookshelves lining the walls of the upper floors were visible from the ground floor - but access to the upper floors was strictly limited to the military.

Only after entering and gazing forlornly at the upper floors did it _click_. He's part of the military now. Naruto eagerly flashed his shinobi ID card by the door to the stairs to the next floor and began exploring.

And exploring.

And - would you look at that, more exploring!

He thought almost all of the books he looked over were interesting - but there was just so many. There were books on, for example; ninjutsu theory and its creation. Naruto eagerly picked such a book up and started adding to the pile in his arms. _That'_ s when he saw it. A small white book that looked out of place, not quite pushed into its spot with half of its length hanging over the edge of the shelf. Naruto hummed, narrowing his eyes to read the uncommonly small text along the spine of the book.

"Summoning for Dummies, by..." he turned the book and searched for the author's name, "Orochimaru. Huh." Actually, half of the pile of books he was running around with were written by him too - while Naruto had no idea who he was, he was grateful that the man took the time to write such useful books.

Naruto had always thought that summoning was really cool. If he could really get a contract with this, that'd be a hell of a thing to show sensei when he gets back. Grinning, Naruto checked out the books. He knew what he'd be doing tonight.

* * *

"Okay," Naruto muttered, studying the diagram in the book he was holding and cross-referencing it with his inked creation on the floor, his other hand holding a cheap brush he bought in a calligraphy set on the way home. The ink sat in a small jar besides him, within a small wooden box by his bed. He was writing this in his doorway, since his room was a mess and he didn't want the seal to be visible from his front door – not because it was illegal or anything, but just in case someone visited he still wanted to keep it a surprise.

"Looks good," he grinned, standing up and reviewing the hand-seals on the next page.

The diagram wasn't actually necessary, but it was meant to help him get a summons that 'resonates' with his chakra and personality. Apparently you could tell a lot about someone by their chakra, but while Naruto wasn't too sure that'd apply to him, he didn't want to screw up and get stuck with a worm or something.

"I guess it's time to do it," Naruto muttered. He'd taken off his jacket while he was writing the seal, just to make sure he didn't accidentally smudge the ink with the bulky sleeves - but because he was about to summon himself god-knows-where, he took the time to put it back on. Who's to say he won't end up in the snow somewhere?

There were only five hand-seals. He tossed the book onto his bed, grinning with excitement. "Let's do it." Boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram. Easy enough.

He slammed his hand down, directly on to the seal. Another seal expanded from his hand and connected with the previously drawn seal with a dark, foreboding colouration. The seals glowed brightly, and Naruto only had a moment to think that perhaps this hadn't been the best idea.

He really would have preferred to be wrong.

* * *

It took what felt like a minute – but in reality was only a matter of a few seconds – to heave a shuddering breath. The air was heavy and even breathing was suddenly painfully difficult.

Naruto collapsed to his knees, splashing into the dark ocean of grey chakra beneath him, but not falling through. It was incredibly light, sprayed everywhere and left him feeling cold and drenched. Massaging his neck with one hand, he looked around for anything he recognized.

He couldn't see a thing. A thick grey miasma settled around the blond, ignorant of the cold breeze that made him shiver and easily blocking his vision. He had no idea where what little light there existed had come from, but the miasma largely stymied it.

"Where the hell am I?" Naruto growled quietly, awkwardly getting back up to his feet, breathing slowly but surely. The air was heavy but it was tolerable. Small waves of the dark chakra beneath him spread about in circles, reacting to his movements. He could barely see a meter around. Was this the realm of his summons? What could possibly live _here_? It felt wrong, it was cold and he did _not_ want to even think about the whole floor-is-chakra thing. It didn't make a lick of sense and did nothing to prevent a surge of regret hitting him that was rapidly becoming overly familiar.

The winds picked up and the temperature dropped even further, what little warmth he'd retained fled and his shivers grew in a futile effort to reassume body heat. He heard the ghost of a murmur, an utterance too quiet to translate but loud enough to be wary of. " _Who's there_?" Naruto yelled, spinning around with fists clenched. Something put its hand to his shoulder and the blond slapped the shoulder on reflex with the other hand, but nothing was there. "What the hell is going on...?" he blanched.

A wheezing. No, he knew somehow that it was laughter. A shadow darker than the miasma of chakra became visible near the blond, and he turned in surprise. It was bigger - far bigger than him. Several times taller and many times wider. It moved closer and Naruto stumbled away from it in shock, flailing onto his butt and wincing.

" _ **A mortal that stands atop the aether**_ _ **?**_ " The voice was one part surprised and two parts utterly terrifying. There seemed to be a power behind the tone that was both too impossible and similarly too palpable. The sheer scale and presence of the voice alone far surpassed any other he had ever been exposed to on a level he could hardly fathom. He should've started with the jutsu theory instead, today. He could have just had an early night even – it would've been much better than this.

He shivered. "What are you?" Naruto asked bravely. He waited, but when the shadow moved in a way that he could only interpret to be a curious shift of the head he quickly continued, "I-I came here to find my summons." The blond carefully rose back to his feet, standing against the silhouette of the beast and slowly taking small steps backward. It was easier when he focused on the task at hand rather than the creature that'd found him during.

This place - wherever it was - was very quiet. There was nary a sound besides Naruto's own panicked breathing - which was severely dilapidated by the uncommonly heavy atmosphere – and the slight sounds of his footsteps against the waves of chakra. ' _Did it hear me?'_

The - he didn't know what it was - moved closer and Naruto gulped, but stopped moving. He felt rather than saw waves of _something_ reaching for, through and beyond himself. He was frozen in place by his own fear and it took all he had just to stay on his feet. There was something intrinsically _wrong_ about the creature's existence and he was all the more regretful about coming here for it.

It stopped moving barely out of Naruto's visibility range. " _ **How did you get here, little Uzumaki**_ _ **?**_ " the voice sounded patronizing, but that might just be its natural tone - Naruto had no idea.

"I-I'm a shinobi," Naruto stuttered, raising an arm shakily and channeling his chakra into it, waves of the silver substance he'd come to familiarize himself with threading itself around the limb and clashing strikingly against the darker gloomy surroundings. "I used the s-summoning technique, and it was meant to take me to, uh, somewhere I could get a contract - I even drew another seal to make sure I got something _suitable-_ I'm sorry, err, can I leave? _Please_? I don't want to be here, you don't want me to be here - easy, right? Haha… hah..." He was too terrified to even _think_ about how it knew his name, which was a whole 'nother can of beans he did _not_ want to eat.

The being hummed, melodious in an interestingly terrifying way that made him wince. " _ **You should not exist**_ _ **,**_ " to that, Naruto may be experiencing an existential crisis. " _ **I never thought I would meet one like myself**_ _ **.**_ "

Naruto had a _terrible_ , _horrifying_ hunch. "Shinigami-sama..."

" _ **That is what you mortals call me,**_ " the shade mused, moving ever so slightly closer. It was close enough now that it was less of a shadow and more of a large, hazy figure that seemed many times too shocking to describe. Despite being closer, the creature did not lower his voice but was rather louder for it. " _ **Naruto Uzumaki, born to Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze - the Namikaze resides within my personal collection. I know your father created you, for his soul cannot lie. You are very interesting, little Uzumaki**_ _ **.**_ "

" _I-I,_ " Naruto hesitated, he desperately wanted to leave but _he just learned who his parents were_. "The fourth hokage was my father? B-but he sealed the- he made _you_ seal-"

The god's laughter broke Naruto out of his unpleasant reverie and had him desperately trying to cover his ears in a vain attempt to shut out the instinctually disheartening roars. " _ **You need a summoning contract, you said? Then you**_ **have** _ **one, with me.**_ "

Without regard to his previous terror, Naruto guffawed. " _What?_ " That's silly. Insane. His strained, surprised laughter peeled off when it became evident that the god wasn't just messing with him.

" _ **But first; I have gifts for you, my little emissary**_ _ **.**_ "

"H-hey, I don't think I agreed to th-" he quickly responded.

The heavy, inhuman hand of the shinigami atop Naruto's head made him pause. Perhaps he didn't have a choice. "Hey, wait! I'm only ten, I'm _way_ too young to d-"

" _ **Shut up**_ _ **,**_ " the haze murmured, " _ **and listen. You may summon me only one time. That is all. Howev-**_ "

"What?! No!" What the hell was the point of _that_ contract? It would be no help, nobody would even believe he had it, and honestly – he didn't want it! The thing was absolutely terrifying – he was _this_ close to either soiling himself or flat out fainting when it touched him and everything about his current situation felt fundamentally wrong. "I-"

" _ **Don't interrupt me, child. You will suffer a fate worse than death if you suffer me anymore mindless dribble**_." The blond carefully nodded under the heavy-handed gaze of the shinigami. " _ **You don't have the correct qualities to handle**_ **my** _ **power. This, I will fix now. As we speak, you will become more and more cognizant of knowledge that you once had none of. Your body is currently ill-suited to the power of death - you would have died within the year at the rate you've been wastefully throwing around my power. Nevertheless, it is no longer a concern.**_ "

Satisfied that the shinigami had said his piece - and with the horrible, cold feeling of the being's energies manipulating his own - Naruto spoke. "Th-thank you, I guess, but..." he'd probably regret asking, but he needed to. " _Why?_ " There was only so much mental capacity Naruto still had at his disposal to use rationally, his mind run roughshod over the sheer volume of what had been exposed to him. He had the names of his parents – finally – but apparently his _father_ was both the _fourth hokage_ , the one that sealed the most powerful demon in existence _into his stomach_ , and also apparently caused all of what was happening right at this moment. Nice father figure.

A demonic smile was visible even through the thin sheen of miasma between the two. " _ **Your father...**_ " the beast laughed demonically, huge glistening teeth that made him flinch and back away appearing in the being's jaws. " _ **That human has upset the balance of it all, my little reaper. What was once carefully controlled, manipulated and precariously balanced is no longer to be.**_ "

"Reaper, huh?" Naruto muttered, looking down at his feet – anything to avoid looking at the beast ahead of him – and shuffling uncomfortably. He had context for that, something he didn't remember reading or being taught, knowledge that simply existed – the god mentioned something about that earlier but his memory was hazy at the moment. A reaper; a soul harvester. That's what it called him. He knew how to do it too – he knew how to attack a soul, to take it, to _feed_ on it. Least of all, he knew how to see it.

Instinctually, with ease as if the motion was well practiced and often performed, Naruto directed a thin stream of chakra into his eyes. He glanced down to view his reflection in the vast swathe of grey chakra, but there was no obvious difference. If nothing else, his glare was only harder, more centered. Looking forward, he was almost blinded by the sheer presence and power exuded by the soul of the shinigami. It was too bright to pick out a color, too chaotic to so much as focus on, much less observe. In his shock, he lost what control he'd had and his vision returned to normal.

The miasma seemed to have thickened reactively, and what was barely visible of the figure just moments ago was left even hazier. Naruto breathed carefully, evenly, trying not to panic over his sudden ability and distracted himself by repeating what he'd just heard. What did it mean by that?

" _What_ balance?" Naruto asked, holding his sides and looking just above the powerfully glowing eyes staring through him. It made him very uncomfortable, not that it made much difference at this point – just something else to add to the list.

The shadow seemed to hum, a ghastly sound that stood his hairs on their ends and sent shivers through his spine. " _ **I may be overzealous; but the balance of everything**_ ," the being explained simply, " _ **regardless, you**_ **will** _ **consume souls, and**_ **-** "

That thought was abhorrent, even if he still had little-to-no idea of what it _meant_. "No! I-"

" _ **You won't be able to resist,**_ **little** _ **reaper. You will grow strong, above the pinnacles of your kind. One day, you may even be like me.**_ " That was a harrowing thought, even if the rest weren't. " _ **I can only remember one such case of a mortal rising to godhood. He died promptly. Be careful, little reaper.**_ "

Naruto frowned. Again with the reaper. It didn't make sense in the first place; how would he break a balance by being something that – according to the concepts appearing in his mind – was already established? To have this knowledge meant that reapers had already existed. No matter how 'precarious' the 'balance' might be, that doesn't mean-

" _ **I am the only other,**_ " the god said absentmindedly, drawing Naruto out of his pondering with the subtlety of a sledgehammer and sending his thoughts ablaze even as his stomach sunk in horror from the realization that the being was listening to him think. In retrospect, it was fairly obvious since it was already messing with his head in the first place, but it was distressing nonetheless.

Suddenly, the being's monstrous arm retracted from over Naruto's head and back to its side. " _ **It is done. Sleep.**_ "

"What-" Naruto swiftly lost focus, his thoughts became tangential and his gaze blurred. His nose twitched, his shoulders shuddered and his knees crumpled. " _Okay_ …"

He collapsed onto the aether, the miasma thinned, and he disappeared in a blur of silver chakra.

* * *

Naruto gasped, sitting up on reflex and almost knocking his head into the wall.

"What- where- but…" he slowed his hurried breathing and took a moment to calm down. He was sitting on the floor beneath his bedroom door frame, the sigil he'd drawn before he… well, he'd smudged it anyway. He realized he desperately needed a shower. _Was that a dream_?

He decided he hoped it was, as he groggily made his way into his bathroom and switched on the shower faucet. He glanced towards the mirror that ran across the width of the bathroom on the back wall and grimaced. Taking a deep breath, he channeled a thin stream of chakra into his eyes and growled as he observed the reflection.

His knuckles were white, grasped tightly. His pale blond hair disheveled, his gaze a cold fluorescent blue, and his torso… bright. He gulped reflexively as he stared balefully at the bright, gleaming silver that sprouted out of his chest and covered the larger part of his upper body. It was concentrated towards the middle, where he knew his soul resided. It looked, even _felt_ heavy, yet without the light it was just a small silver orb at fault.

That confirmed it then, Naruto thought wearily. He cut off the connection and observed the sudden disappearance of the light with satisfaction before changing out of his worn clothing from the day before and moving into the shower cube to clean up. He was awake now, after that grim confirmation. He checked the clock on his way to the bathroom and he had about an hour to get to the training ground.

He smiled, at least there was something to look forward to.

Kakashi-sensei gets back today.

That means the team finally gets to go on a real mission.

* * *

For the first time in a month and a half, the full of Team 5 converged towards the training ground. After a brief catch-up where the genin detailed the training and missions they'd done while their teacher was away, the team made their way to the tower.

"So… we're definitely doing a C-rank, right?" Hana asked quickly, walking forward from the genin to Kakashi's side, who was absorbed into one of his books.

The jonin hummed. "Unless you'd rather water my plants," Kakashi chuckled absently.

She blanched. Even Hana, as helpful as she liked to be, had done enough D-ranks to last her years. None of the team would miss them – Shino preferred using the time to research bug species, and Naruto would prefer to train or even just sit down and read.

"No thanks," she replied, pasting a smile on her face and losing a step to re-align with Shino and Naruto behind.

"You know," Kakashi began, shifting his book into a pocket on his flak jacket, "C-ranks just means you all have to learn how to do paperwork."

Naruto shivered reflexively. "But it's not _that_ bad, right?"

The jonin shrugged, "it depends what happens. It's a big world out there," he motioned haphazardly towards the primary village entrance with a hand, "and anything could triple the length of a report. Besides," he paused in his stride, turned and waved the genin closer before whispering, "you have to rate your teammates in your reports now. Won't that be interesting?"

Shino's eyes briefly flashed. "I will let the village know if you are not satisfactory, sensei."

Kakashi winced as he turned back around and continued walking. "I'm sure you will, Shino…"

"What kind of C-rank are we going on?" Naruto asked curiously. The mission centre was just around the corner at this point, evident by the growing number of stalls – civilians tended to set up shop around where most shinobi picked up their pay cheques. It was easier on everyone that way, the more centralized the easier it was to restock from a mission and pick up groceries at the same time and the closest stalls made more income due to it.

"What kind of C-rank do you want to go on?" Kakashi shot back.

"I want to fight ninja," Naruto answered reflexively. He frowned, his answer having been spurred by incentives he'd been given the night before. He didn't even mean to say it.

The jonin gave him a strange look that Naruto couldn't quite translate before the man looked away.

"What about you Hana? Shino?" Kakashi asked evenly.

"I would like to go on a mission where I could find exotic insects," Shino answered easily, nodding along to his own reasoning with a hum. New insects for an Aburame meant new combat application, and that meant new strategies.

Hana rolled her eyes. "I just want to see new places. I've never been out of the village." Both Naruto and Shino nodded, agreeing. They loved the village, but the world was big and there was a lot to see and a lot they'd heard of.

"Me too, it'd be super cool to see the ocean," Naruto decided.

"It would be interesting to observe insects that make their nests around the waters," Shino added, "I have not had that opportunity."

Kakashi nodded along to their words but added none of his own. The group soon found the tower and entered the mission centre, where Kakashi lead the small group to a familiar desk manned by a familiar chunin.

"Iruka-sensei!" The genin greeted with smiles. The scarred man smiled back and gave a small wave.

"Team 5," Iruka greeted. "It's good to see you back Kakashi-san. What do you need?"

"A C-rank, what do you have?" he answered easily. Iruka opened a drawer by his side and muttered to himself as he skimmed through its contents.

"Well, I have escort and courier C-ranks. Courier to Tanzaku Gai, Otafuki Gai, escorts to Keishi, Wave, Tan-"

"Wave," Kakashi interrupted smoothly. "I'm sure my team would appreciate a longer walk."

Iruka quirked an eyebrow but didn't otherwise comment. "Alright. Your client is Tazuna…" he frowned, "…the self-proclaimed 'Master Bridge Builder'. You're escorting his caravan back to the docks in Wave, and he's paid for an extra month of protection while he finishes building a bridge connecting Wave to Fire country."

"Sounds important for a C-rank," Naruto mused, his teammates making similar thoughts as the two more experienced shinobi exchanged words until Kakashi finally stepped back and lead the small group outside.

Kakashi stopped just outside and turned to face the team. "Alright, meet at the eastern gates in two hours. The client is eager to move out and it's too early to waste the day preparing. Don't forget to pack your sleeping roll, an extra change of clothes, your…" Naruto tuned him out, mentally going over his supplies and figuring out what he did and didn't already have. Two hours wasn't a lot of time when his apartment was on the other side of town and he still needed to buy a few things.

He was brought back to his senses when he realized Kakashi and both of his teammates were already gone. Whoops.

Nonetheless, he smiled as he leaped onto the closest rooftop and quickly made his way home to grab his things, ignoring the soft stirring of apprehension welling up in his gut.


End file.
